Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Last week I noted the announcement of the discovery of an Old Persian Inscription on a stele excavated at excavated at Phanagoria, on the Taman peninsula on the North coast of the Black Sea. Since then there have been a few cursory articles on this, including one in The Art Newspaper, but nothing giving any new information.But I was alerted this morning by @Spartokosaluof Russian television coverage of the object, complete with some very interesting images of the inscription:

The third and final international conference of the Neubauer Collegium
project, Signs of Writing: The Cultural, Social, and Linguistic Contexts
of the World’s First Writing Systems will be held at the University of
Chicago’s Center in Paris, July 25th-27th 2016.

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

On 19 July 2016 the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s summary judgment against the plaintiffs and in favor of the OI and Iran in the lawsuit over the Persepolis Fortification tablets. One of the judges filed a dissent and noted that the court’s decision creates a conflict between decisions by different federal appellate courts on a core legal issue. When this happens, the U.S. Supreme Court sometimes decides to review the cases and issue a decision that resolves the split, so there is the possibility of additional proceedings. Stay tuned here on the PFA Project blog and to the Persepolis Tablets in the News page for further developments and links to analysis of this decision.

Oriental Institute Director Gil J. Stein said he is pleased with the ruling.

“While the university abhors the acts of terrorism that lead to this
proceeding, the artifacts at issue here are not subject to attachment
under either the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act or the Terrorism Risk
and Insurance Act, The Institute looks forward
to continuing its research on the Persepolis Collection, artifacts which
provide unparalleled insight into the history and languages of the
Persian Empire around 500 B.C.”

Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran

July 19, 2016

By Justia Inc

In 1997 Hamas suicide bombers blew themselves up on a crowded
Jerusalem pedestrian mall. The grievously injured included eight U.S.
citizens who filed a civil action against the Islamic Republic of Iran
for its role in providing material support to the attackers. Iran was
subject to suit as a state sponsor of terrorism under the Foreign
Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. 1605(a)(7). A district judge entered
a $71.5 million default judgment. Iran did not pay. Among other
efforts, the plaintiffs sought to execute on ancient Persian artifacts:
the Persepolis, Chogha Mish, and Oriental Institute Collections, all in
the possession of the University of Chicago; and the Herzfeld
Collection, split between the University and Chicago’s Field Museum.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district judge’s conclusion that
attachment and execution were unavailable under the Terrorism Risk
Insurance Act of 2002, 28 U.S.C. 1610, which permits holders of
terrorism-related judgments to execute on assets that are “blocked” by
executive order under certain international sanctions provisions. The
assets are not blocked by existing executive order. Nor does section
1610(a) apply. That provision permits execution on a foreign state’s
property “used for a commercial activity in the United States.” The
foreign state, Iran, did not put the artifacts to any commercial use. View "Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran" on Justia Law